Wineskins

In yesterday's post, we spoke about wine, and how it is symbolic of what we are to be and to give to others.  Today's Gospel reading continued that theme.  Our Lord says, "Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined.  Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”  (Mark 2: 21-22)  The point of today, as I see it, is if we are to live the life of the Spirit (which the wine symbolizes), then the bodies and souls where the Holy Spirit reside, the temple of the Holy Spirit, needs to be "new", as well.  Trying to live the life of the Spirit without attending to where the Spirit will reside would be like putting on a new dress while forgetting to take a shower, or putting a brand new Mercedes in a barn garage, it just does not fit right.  Or, thinking liturgically, it would be like putting the Blessed Sacrament in a pencil box as opposed to an adorned Tabernacle.  Something is not right with all of these examples.

In this Year of Mercy, it is important that we set ourselves up so that we are in the best possible condition to receive God's mercy.  God can give us His Mercy no matter what; however, if we are not ready to receive it, we can "burst" just like an old wineskin will do if fresh new wine is poured into it.  How can we prepare to receive God's Mercy, and not fall apart when doing so?   Here is what we can to do start (and yes it will read like a Bible tract...but only to a point).

1)  Accept that you are a sinner just like everyone else.
2)  Acknowledge that as a sinner, you are not God.
3)  Believe that God loves you, and is coming for you, even if that may be a struggle right now to truly believe that.
4) Tell the Lord that it is hard for you to believe that He loves you, and ask Him for that gift of faith to help you believe.
5) Tell the Lord you want to be made "new", and to become a "new person".


At this point, my Protestant brothers and sisters would say that you can receive Jesus into your heart, by accepting Him as Lord and Savior, and your sins will be forgiven, and you will be saved.   They will say that you have now received God's Mercy and you have been made "new".

Are you, though, truly forgiven and truly "made new" at this point?

The following Scripture passages (some of which we have looked at already in this blog) make it hard to argue against the Catholic teaching that the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, and not verbal professions of faith, are the normal ordained means of salvation and sanctification.  To me, they say that one must be immersed in the life of the Sacraments to be made "new", to be that temple of the Spirit so one can receive the Mercy of God as He intended. Our Lord says in John 3:5 "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit."  In  other words, we cannot enter be saved or enter new life without receiving Baptism.  He says in John 20:23, "If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."  To have assurance of the forgiveness of sins, we must go to a priest in Confession, not just tell Him we are sorry.  Jesus says in John 6:53,"Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."  To have any life within us, we must go to Mass and consume Him in the Eucharist.   Believing in Him and receiving Him into our hearts is not enough, we must also eat Him.


I know it may not be easy for some of us to hear this.   We may say that there must be a simpler, easier way to receive mercy.  One might object that that is too much ritual, that he or she was looking for a "personal" God.  (Never mind the fact that one cannot get more personal with something than "consuming" it, something I have spoken of previously.)   It may not be what some of us want to hear.
However, if we withhold the truth, we are being anything but merciful.  The only way to become new wineskins is to be immersed in the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church.   We can begin the journey to mercy outside the Church, but any journey to mercy must ultimately end up in the Church.  Granted, this possibility does exist that one could finalize that journey only in the Church in heaven, while not at any point formally becoming a Catholic and entering the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church here on Earth.  However, God has revealed that the Sacraments are the normal means of salvation, that He founded One Church upon Peter the Rock, and so, anyone who deliberately resists that path is putting their salvation at risk, and may not have that chance to experience the Church in heaven.

So in this Year of Mercy, let us resolve to become more immersed ourselves in the sacramental life of the Church.  Perhaps we should get baptized if we have not.  Perhaps we should go to Confession if we have not been for some time or go a little more often than we have been.  Perhaps we should go to Mass every Sunday instead of just some Sundays, or go once or twice during the week, too,  if we have been going on Sundays.  Let us encourage those whom we love to do the same.  In that way, we will all experience mercy like we have never known before.

Saint Joseph, foster father of the Merciful Savior, pray for us.